United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names

UNGEGN Draft Strategic Framework

At the first session of the "new" UNGEGN, convened from 29 April to 3 May 2019 in New York, the Group of Experts adopted the draft session report that included six recommendations and 15 decisions. These recommendations and decisions were adopted by the United Nations Economic and Social Council at its management meeting in July 2019 ( E/2019/99). Recommendation 1 (see E/C.20/2020/17/Add.1) requested that the Bureau of the Group of Experts undertake the development of a draft strategic plan and programme of work for the new UNGEGN, to be presented for consideration at its second session in May 2021.

Recommendation 1

Undertake the development of a draft strategic plan and programme of work for the new UNGEGN, to be adopted at its second session, which, among other items, should take into account:

• (a) The mandate and structure of the Group;
• (b) Support for the creation of new national geographical names authorities and strengthening the operation of existing ones;
• (c) The establishment of funding mechanisms (such as a Trust Fund) to support the implementation of the strategic plan;
• (d) Appropriate branding and publicity of UNGEGN;
• (e) The focus and core goals of its parent body, ECOSOC; and,
• (f) A suitable planning time frame.

In pursuance of Recommendation 1, the Bureau and working group convenors of the Group of Experts have been preparing the draft strategic plan and programme of work.

A strategic plan and programme of work are necessary in order to build on the advancements made in modernizing and making the Group of Experts operations efficient, and to strengthen the Groups' alignment with other expert bodies of ECOSOC. In doing this task, the Group is required to take into consideration, rapid technological developments, the priority geographical names standardization requirements of Member States, and support ECOSOC's work on advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

At the start of the exercise, the Bureau and working group convenors prepared a schedule and outline for the preparation of the UNGEGN draft strategic plan and programme of work. An important element of the exercise is the engagement of Member State representatives, to ensure their contribution and transparency of the process

The first consultation was carried out between September and December 2019, when Member States were invited to submit their national geographical names standardization issues and propose priority actions to be pursued by the Group of Experts over the period 2021 to 2029. Based on the feedback received from ten Member States, the Bureau and working group convenors prepared the first version of the draft strategic plan which outlined the proposed vision, values, aims and five overall strategies

The second round of consultations on the draft strategic plan was done from June to August 2020. With the feedback received from 20 Member States and three international organizations, the Bureau revised the draft strategic plan and prepared an accompanying programme of work. The 38-page comprehensive document containing the five strategies and related action items has been circulated for review and comments on or before Thursday 18 March 2021. This invitation for feedback constitutes the third round of global consultations.